Main causes of treatable mortality across OECD countries 2021
In 2021, circulatory system diseases (mainly heart attack and stroke) accounted for 37 percent of all premature deaths amenable to treatment in OECD countries. The OECD defines treatable (or amenable) mortality as causes of death that can be mainly avoided through timely and effective health care interventions including secondary prevention and treatment (i.e. after the onset of disease, to reduce case fatality). Preventable mortality is defined as causes of death amongst people aged under 75 years that can be mainly avoided through effective public health and primary prevention interventions (i.e. before the onset of disease/injury, to reduce incidence). Different cancers fall under different categories, for example, lung cancer is classified as preventable, whereas breast and colorectal cancers are classified as treatable. The statistic shows the main causes of treatable mortality across OECD countries 2021.